Wakhi people
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, China | |
| Languages | |
| Wakhi | |
| Religion | |
| Ismaili Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Pamiri, Tajiks |
The Wakhi people (also Khik) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Wakhan of Afghanistan, and adjacent areas of Tajikistan, Xinjiang and the Hunza Valley of Pakistan.[1] They speak the Wakhi language. They are distinct from the Pamiri.
Population and Demographics
A very rough estimate puts the population of Wakhis at about 50,000. The population is divided among four different countries: Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Xinjiang in western China. The religion of Wakhis is Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslim, being followers of the Aga Khan.[2] Other sources suggest that they are Sunni.[1].
Organizations
Wakhi Cultural Association
In Pakistan, the central organization of Wakhis is the Wakhi Cultural Association Pakistan (WCA), an organization that is working with the Pakistani Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Lok Virsa Pakistan. The WCA aims to preserve the Wakhi language and culture and to record its poetry and music. The WCA has arranged more than twenty programmes since 1984, including cultural shows, musical nights, large-scale musical festivals with the collaboration of Lok Virsa Pakistan, Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan (AKCSP), and Pakistan Television. In 2000, the WCA won a "Best Programme" organizer award in the Silk Road Festival from the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf.
Media
Radio Pakistan's Gilgit station broadcasts the Wakhi radio programme "Sadoyah Boom-e Dunyo" (the Voice of the Roof of the World).
A computerized codification of Wakhi script has been released. It is hoped that this will help researchers record and document Wakhi poetry, literature and history.
Notes
References
- Felmy, Sabine (1996) The Voice of the Nightingale: A Personal Account of the Wakhi Culture in Hunza Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 0-19-577599-6.
- Shahrani, M. Nazif. (1979) The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan: Adaptation to Closed Frontiers and War University of Washington Press, Seattle, ISBN 0-295-95669-0; 1st paperback edition with new preface and epilogue (2002), ISBN 0-295-98262-4.